After the death of 12 Turkish soldiers over the weekend in clashes with PKK members in northern Iraq and Syria, Ankara appears determined to get its blood back. The Turkish army has already launched airstrikes hitting dozens of PKK targets, bases, shelters and oil facilities. The Minister of National Defense Yasar Güler, accompanied by administrative officers of the Turkish army, has been since yesterday morning at the Sirnak Infantry Command, near the border with Iraq. The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced this morning that 26 PKK fighters and at least 30 others were neutralized during the airstrikes in a ground operation. The number is expected to increase.

Erdogan: “The wicked will pay»

Guler said the Turkish military’s operations would continue without interruption with increasing violence and pressure until, he said, bloodthirsty terrorists disappeared from this geography, regardless of who supports them. President Erdoğan’s message of condolence on social media was loud. The Turkish president threatened that those responsible will pay dearly and indirectly accused the US of making a mistake by supporting the Kurds. “The vile separatists will answer for the blood shed. We will continue our strategy of eliminating terrorism at its source with determination until the last terrorist is eliminated. Turkey will not allow the presence of a terrorist organization in northern Iraq or Syria. We will not back down in our fight against the hordes of paid assassins subcontracted by the imperialists. Both criminals and those who support them will understand sooner or later that there is no room for terrorism in the future of our region,” President Erdogan said in his message.

Several Turkish analysts warned that the Syrian front would open again. In fact, how much importance Turkey attaches to this region, became clear from the statements of the current Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, a few days ago during the debate in the Turkish National Assembly on the budget of his Ministry. “We are fully committed to the territorial integrity and political unity of Syria,” he had said, stressing however that “the war against terrorist organizations in the region, especially the PKK/YPG, will continue and Turkey will continue to fight to prevent the establishment of a of a terrorist state in northern Syria,” Fidan had emphasized, adding verbatim: “We will continue to emphasize to all our interlocutors, especially in the US, that supporting the terrorist organization PKK/YPG under the guise of the fight against IS, is strategic mistake.”

It prevents the PKK from approaching Turkey–USA;

Today, December 25, President Erdoğan, inaugurating the second runway of Sabiha Gökçen Airport, on the Asian side of Istanbul, once again took the opportunity to warn “those forces” that are dividing the nation using terrorism: “The old Turkey, where its politics country shaped by terrorism, has been left behind. Plans to divide our nation through terrorism have expired. We will never allow any attack on the brotherhood of 85 million people. Anyone who attacks our unity using the actions of traitors as a shield serves the purposes of terrorism. We want, especially our young people, to be very careful in this matter and not to give credibility to provocateurs. I find it useful to send this warning to those who would terrorize us. You tried everything for 21 years but you could not stop our blessed journey. By God’s permission, you will not hinder the building of the Turkish Century. You have been disappointed many times in 21 years, you will lose again. We know your games, we know your aspirations. We will continue to fight against you as long as we live, as long as the support of our beloved nation is with us.

And while the current week is predicted to be critical for Turkey-US relations, for the Swedish issue and for the F16s, the loss of 12 Turkish soldiers by US-backed forces is causing strong reactions inside Turkey and leaves room for various scenarios. Turkish analysts question whether the PKK factor has often played a negative role in any process of normalizing Turkish-American relations. Analyzing the latest negative development, they note that on December 22, the vice-president of the Foreign Relations Committee Fuat Oktai announced that the committee would meet on December 26 to decide on the issue of Sweden’s accession to NATO. The scenario that was circulating was that the proposal would be approved with the votes of the ruling party and the official vote in the National Assembly would take place on December 28, i.e. at the end of the year.

The 26th is criticalthe December

In other words, Turkey would take an important step towards normalizing its relations with the West. But the agenda suddenly changed with the tragic event of the loss of so many “little Mehmetçiks” (Mehmetçik), as all Turkish soldiers are affectionately called. So questions are raised as to who benefits from such a development that suddenly changes the atmosphere in Turkish society by strengthening anti-Western sentiment at a time when things seemed to be improving. Well-known journalist Murat Getkin asks these questions in turn: “Did the PKK act this way because an agreement on Sweden will hinder its activities in Sweden, or did it act this way to prevent strengthening relations of Turkey with NATO? Who are behind the actions of the PKK right now,” asks Getkin. “People in the US, Russian and Iranian government? Is this related to the Gaza crisis? And how will the latest attack affect tomorrow’s meeting in the Grand Turkish National Assembly on Sweden’s accession? At least tomorrow’s session in the Turkish National Assembly will provide some answers.